Botswana invests P34.5 million in Trans-Kalahari coverage

TL;DR: Botswana invested P34.5 million, about US$2.5 million, to expand mobile broadband and voice coverage along the 1,900-kilometre Trans-Kalahari Highway through 12 sites under the Universal Access and Service Fund broadband expansion project.

Botswana invested P34.5 million, about US$2.5 million, to expand mobile broadband and voice coverage along the 1,900-kilometre Trans-Kalahari Highway through 12 sites under the Universal Access and Service Fund broadband expansion project.

The project involves Orange Botswana and targets connectivity for rural communities, businesses, farmers and travellers along a trade corridor linking Botswana, Namibia and South Africa.

The Trans-Kalahari Corridor connects Walvis Bay and Windhoek in Namibia through Botswana to Pretoria and Johannesburg in South Africa, supporting regional trade and cross-border economic activity.

Further network expansion is planned through infrastructure sharing and network optimisation involving Botswana Telecommunications Corporation and Mascom, with improvements expected by the end of the next financial year, according to Communications and Innovation Minister David Tshere.